Current Projects

Wellbeing and Work

With Mark Bryan (University of Sheffield), Sara Connolly (University of East Anglia), Cigdem Gedikli (University of Swansea) and Alita Nandi (University of Essex)

We focus on the relationship between wellbeing (life satisfaction) and labour market outcomes:
1. Is the negative effect of unemployment on life satisfaction the same for everybody? Find our initial results here.
2. Is there always a positive effect of a job change on life satisfaction?
3. Are happier students more likely to find a job when they first enter the labour market?  Find our initial results here.

Ethnic Inequalities and Geographical Location

Ethnic minorities tend to concentrate in urban and in deprived areas.  How much are occupational segregation and ethnic wage gaps in the UK the result of the geographical location of ethnic minorities?

Labour Market Outcomes of Minority Graduates

With Sarah Jewell (University of Reading) we focus on differences in labour market outcomes of university graduates by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and social class.  Do differences in attitudes to the labour market lead to differences in job preferences and job search strategies?  Do differences in job preferences and job search strategies lead to differences in labour market outcomes?  How can we reduce such differences?

The Impact of Pension Reforms on Women born in the 1950s

With Marina Della Giusta (University of Reading).

Women born in the 1950s in the UK have been subjected to successive pension changes which have seriously impacted their welfare and that of their families and communities. The WASPI campaign explains the issues in detail. We will assess the impact beyond affected women’s incomes (which has thus far been the sole focus of the government’s response) and into wider welfare effects to the women themselves (their mental and physical health) their families and communities (as they are often carers of grandchildren, of partners and other family members as well as volunteers in their communities).
Find the initial results here, and the non-technical summary here.